SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Ten players scored for Elms College, led by Jenny Gorski's 10 points, as the visiting Blazers defeated Mount Holyoke College 68-36 in the Lyons' home opener Wednesday night in Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
Elms (3-0) outscored Mount Holyoke (0-3) 17-0 in the first quarter to quickly take command of the game. The host Lyons trailed 37-8 at the half but regrouped to outscore Elms 18-16 in the third quarter.
Mount Holyoke sophomore Cal McGonagle (Yarmouth, Maine) led all players with a career-high 16 points, to go with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Nicole Lutalo (Kampala, Uganda) grabbed a game- and career-high 12 rebounds, keying Mount Holyoke's 50-48 advantage on the boards. First-year Amelia Knaysi (Grand Junction, Colo.) broke the Lyons' scoring drought to start the game with an offensive putback, and finished with six points and seven rebounds.
Talia Uribe, Kayla Jackson and Rahmia Johnston all scored nine points for Elms. Jackson had a team-high eight rebounds, and Mikayler Patch added eight points and seven rebounds. Sarah Evangelista played excellent backcourt defense and set the pace for Elms, tallying seven points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Elms shot .384 from the field, 1-11 (.091) from three-point territory, and 11-23 (.478) at the free throw line. Mount Holyoke shot .222 from the field, 2-14 (.143) from three, and 6-9 (.667) at the line. The Lyons committed 29 turnovers to Elms' 18, leading to a 27-10 difference in points off turnovers.
Evangelista made a jumper in the opening seconds to give Elms the lead it never relinquished. Evangelista and Patch scored four points apiece in the first quarter and Uribe added five points off the bench. Mount Holyoke shot 0-11 from the field and 0-2 at the line in the quarter as the Lyons fell into the 17-0 hole after 10 minutes of play.
Elms led 19-0 before Knaysi broke an 11-minute scoreless drought with 8:58 left in the second quarter. But Elms continued to expand its lead, outscoring Mount Holyoke 20-8 in the second quarter, with six players scoring for the Blazers.
McGonagle scored nine points and first-year Maddy Duncan (Tucson, Ariz.) added five in the third quarter, as Mount Holyoke created some excitement with 18 points in the period, shooting 7-15 (.467) from the field and 4-5 (.800) at the line. For Elms, Johnston poured in eight points in the period, helping keep the Lyons from cutting into the deficit.
Mount Holyoke cooled off in the fourth quarter, making 3-20 from the field (.150).
The Lyons play at Dean College Saturday at 3pm. Elms next plays at Curry Saturday at 1pm.
